And now, we're getting to the grit and teeth of it all! Time for the next to last chapter of this tale! Anyway, enjoy!
"Thanks for getting me to a hospital on such short notice..." Sylvester Sneekly said as he was out of the disguise (Crane was kind enough to pull off the disguise when Pandora and Tank left) and was being loaded into a hospital bed.
"Hey, it's no trouble at all. What kind of minions would we be if we didn't care for our boss?" Crane said as he motioned to the doctor to take him in the hospital. "And don't worry, we'll keep on eye on Penelope for you! We'll just tell her you're in the hospital!"
"Thanks, Bully Brothers. You really are loyal to the end." Sylvester smiled as the hospital doors slammed as the doctors took him away.
Crane happily waved as the ambulance containing Sylvester Sneekly left... and as soon as that was done, Crane gave a cheer. "YES! HE'S GONE! Oh boy, maybe now we can finally get a relaxing vacation in!"
Meanwhile, on a park bench, Pandora was sitting down, putting her head down as Tank sat next to her, looking concerned for the woman as she was quietly crying to herself.
"I... I..." Pandora sniffled. "I should have been there... for them... I should have been there to talk to her... but I wasn't, because I was being such a giant witch!"
"Well, you did kind of had it coming to you." Tank pointed out as Pandora looked up at him. "The way Penelope was yelling at you, I mean, wow! Whatever you did to get her that mad, it must have been really bad."
"To think, she had that all bottled in, and she was trying to tell me... but I wouldn't listen or even cooperate with her!" Pandora sadly said.
"Well, at this point, maybe... you kind of deserve that yelling." Tank said as Crane came over to him.
"What?" Pandora looked up to the two with a frown on her face.
"Well, yeah. I mean, you were acting like nothing but a complete brat to this girl. Maybe back then, she was insufferable, but this is Penelope NOW!" Tank explained.
"You're holding on to the past, thinking about what was, instead of what is." Crane said as he put his hand on Tank's shoulders. "Both Tank and I are twins too, and while we do have our scuffles, we both know that we don't actually mean what we say."
"But I-" Pandora started as Crane sighed.
"Let me ask you something, Miss Pandora." Crane started. "Why did you run away in the first place?"
Pandora looked down as she tried to think of an answer. Crane crossed his arms as he smirked. "I thought so. You don't even remember why you ran away in the first place. Maybe it was to stand out a little more, maybe you just wanted some attention... the point of the matter is, you were jealous, and you had no reason to be."
Tank nodded. "Yeah! We may be minions working under a villain, but at the end of the day, we're still family."
Pandora stayed quiet for a little while before looking between the two brothers. "Why are you two helping me? Aren't you the bad guys?"
"In a certain point-of-view, we are. But at the same time, you don't have to be the bad guy if you show some good in you." Tank said before deflating. "That, and the Claw's going to dock our salary when he finds out we ditched him at the hospital bed... but hey, it's all worth it!"
"Because I'm spending time with my brother on vacation!" Crane smiled. "Which is all we wanted all this time. I guess the question for you, Miss Pandora is... what do you want to do?"
Pandora looked at the two brothers as she started to think pretty hard...
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Penelope started to angrily march to her room as the Ant Hill Mob were looking at each other in concern. Clyde smiled nervously as he said, "Uh, Penelope? Why don't we go out and have a nice Italian dinner, you and all of us here?"
"Not in the mood!" Penelope grumbled as she pushed the button to the elevator.
"Uh, hey, maybe we can explore the Golden Gate Bridge!" Dum Dum said.
Penelope instantly responded by punching the button as the elevator opened up. The Ant Hill Mob immediately stepped back as Penelope entered the elevator, then stepped inside with her as she tapped her foot as the doors closed and the elevator went up.
"No Golden Gate Bridge, okay... er... maybe a museum?" Dum Dum said.
The bell for the elevator made a dinging sound as it arrived at the floor and she started to book it for her room as she opened it and closed it as the Ant Hill Mob attempted to catch up.
However, upon them coming to the closed door, Clyde started to knock on the door. "Uh, Penelope, are you feeling okay?"
"I'M FINE!" Penelope called out from her room as the others looked worried.
"Listen, if it's about your sister-" Clyde started to say.
"I'm sorry, Clyde, but I have no sister!" Penelope said darkly from the other end of the door. "Boys, tell Sylvester Sneekly and the Scully Brothers to pack up, we will be leaving soon!"
"Wh-what? Already?" Dum Dum said in surprise.
"Just do it!" Penelope called out, still in an angry mood as the Ant Hill Mob, from the other side of the door, looked concerned as they started to go off.
Once she was sure she was all alone, she laid down on the bed and had a good cry... for about ten, fifteen minutes max. She should have seen Pandora's true colors from the beginning, she should have! But no, she chose to give her the benefit of doubt, all because she didn't know her parents died. And to see Pandora talking so negatively about them all the time, she was just pushed over the edge. All of the tears that were held in were getting let out as she hung on to the pillow and cried.
Once her mind was cleared, and her tears stopped flowing, she slowly got up as she looked outside to look at the afternoon sky. San Francisco was always beautiful in the afternoon, she thought. She looked down as she knew that this place was no longer fit for her. If she couldn't enjoy herself on vacation, then why would she find time to enjoy herself at all...
She looked out the window as she sighed, thinking about the times she had spending with her sister, and looking back more on the faces she made and how uncomfortable she was during these times. A tear went down her face as she looked down. But she put that all aside as she began packing.
After everything was packed up, she gave a nod as she turned towards the door as she started to head out to go to the elevator and either meet up with the Ant Hill Mob or wait for them down below. However, when she opened the door, she was met face to face with somebody she didn't even want to see right now.
Penelope frowned as she turned her back towards a very concerned Pandora. Pandora gave a sigh as she looked down as she started to talk. "I know you probably don't want to see me right now, or even want to talk to me, but I have something to say, and I just need you to listen, just for a few minutes."
Penelope made no response, but she did lift her head up for a moment. Pandora continued talking, "I'm sorry I was never there for you. I never knew our parents died, hell, I didn't even know that you went through a traumatizing experience! You were right, I don't know what you went through, but that was because I was acting very selfish."
Pandora gave a sigh before continuing, "I guess deep in my mind, I thought you would notice I was gone and you guys would come find me, but you never did, and that told me that I wasn't wanted in the family. I never realized until otherwise. But if I had known our parents were dead, I would have looked for you and we would have been together. But instead, I went to a life of crime, and I left you behind, thinking you were orphaned for the past few years. And you just wanted to talk to me, and I wouldn't cooperate with you on that matter."
Pandora looked down in sadness as she continued, "But two brothers told me today that I've been a complete jerk to you when I shouldn't have. I should have listened to the whole story, instead of acting selfish! I guess what I'm trying to say is... is that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said about our parents, and I shouldn't have pushed your buttons... even if it was actually pretty amazing, seeing you angry at me... but that shouldn't have happened in the first place. I don't expect you to forgive me, but the only thing I want now is to... at least hang out together. I mean, we're both on vacation, right? We shouldn't end this early just because of a tiff. And if you still want to hate me afterwards, go ahead. I deserve it."
For the longest time, Penelope said nothing as Pandora looked over at her turned back. Pandora gave a sad sigh as she turned around, taking the hint... until...
"You know... sometimes, a sibling rivalry can be quite a petty thing." Penelope slowly said as Pandora stopped and turned towards her sister, whose back was still turned. "And even though we have a lot of differences, these differences can make us even closer than we think. Pandora, I know you don't want to be part of the Pitstops, but..."
Penelope turned her head slightly, showing she had a bit of a smile on her, and a tear in her eye. "...but I can't bring it in my heart to hate you. I still consider you a Pitstop, no matter what."
Pandora gave a warm smile as she pulled Penelope into a hug, surprising her. Penelope gave a giggle as she turned around and hugged back. "Oh, I see you're a hugger when you want to be, huh?"
"Heh, don't get used to it, sister! We may be together again, but I like to see you as my rival!" Pandora gave a smirk.
Penelope gave a laugh as she said, "Good for you, little sister!"
"Stop cheering me on, that's not supposed to be a good thing!" Pandora sneered at her... before giving a laugh as Penelope joined her, before Pandora sighed, "Listen, Penelope, I know things are a little rough between us, and that we have different backgrounds... but... considering where we are now... well... I won't stop you from getting the fortune."
"Awww... little sister..." Penelope sniffled as she gave a smile.
"Yeah yeah, I'm a sweetheart. Just don't get used to it! When this vacation is over, we're going to be enemies again! So, don't try and give me your friendship spiel!" Pandora rolled her eyes.
"What about the Hooded Claw?" Penelope asked.
Pandora scoffed. "He got lucky once, I'm sure he won't again. I'll make sure of that..."
"Oh, you do care about me!" Penelope giggled.
"...maybe a little..." Pandora sighed... before pausing. "So... about the rest of our beach day... want to finish that?"
"Oh, most certainly!" Penelope smiled. "I'll go over to the boys and tell them we're not leaving after all!"
"I'll wait for you in the lobby then!" Pandora gave a grin as she waved to Penelope as she ran down the elevator. As soon as she was sure she was gone, Pandora gave a sigh as she turned towards the two oddly shaped vases in which Crane and Tank came out. "Thanks for the help, "Scully" Brothers..."
Crane and Tank's eyes widened as Crane said, "You knew?"
"Uh, duh! Like I also knew that that sneaky lawyer guy, Sylvester, was really the Hooded Claw? Come on, these two have basically the same glasses! And he didn't bother changing his voice!" Pandora said as Crane and Tank looked nervous. She then turned towards Crane and Tank as she said, "It's all right. I just chose not to tell Penelope because... I don't want her heart broken to more pieces than it already was. I may still hate her, but... ugh, she's still going to need all the help we can give her."
Crane and Tank sighed in relief as Pandora turned to them, "And seeing as how you don't want to be near your boss... don't worry, you can give him reports that you tried to go on in his place to try to get us..."
"When really, we were on vacation this whole time?" Tank asked. "Ooo, nice!"
"Isn't it though?" Pandora smirked. "Well, you two better get yourselves ready for the rest of your beach day... after all, we only have a couple days left..."
With that said and done, Pandora got up and started to go off towards the elevator, leaving Crane and Tank behind as the two brothers looked at each other.
"First one down the stairs is a rotten egg!" Crane called out as he started to run towards the stairs.
"Not me!" Tank laughed as he gave a warm smile.
And that is the second to last chapter done! What do you guys think? Next time, we'll be heading for the story's final chapter! Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!